1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to folding recliners of seats for vehicles and, more particularly, to a folding recliner of a seat for vehicles which is able to execute both seat folding and reclining motions using only a single lever, so that the size of a linking mechanism and the number of elements are reduced, and manufacturing costs thereof are reduced, and in which a latch pin and a stopper link are provided in an arm frame, so that the folding and reclining motions of the seat can be separately executed and, as well, a malfunction in folding or reclining the seat is prevented from being induced.
2. Description of the Related Art
As well known to those skilled in the art, a vehicle seat comprises a seat cushion, which supports the weight of an occupant, and a seat back, which supports the back of the occupant.
Typically, the seat back is rotatably mounted to the seat cushion by a hinge, and the angle of the seat back with respect to the seat cushion can be adjusted according to the intended purpose of the occupant. For this, the seat back should be converted between a locked state, in which the seat back is locked to the seat cushion at a desired angle, and an unlocked state, in which the seat back is rotatable with respect to the seat cushion. To maintain the seat back in any state or convert the seat back, which has been in that state, into another state, a recliner is mounted on the seat.
In particular, a folding recliner of a seat for vehicles is constructed such that a seat back, which supports the back of an occupant, may be rotated forwards and folded onto a seat cushion.
For example, the folding recliner may be applied to a vehicle, such as a 3-door vehicle or a coupe vehicle having no rear passenger doors, so that passengers may easily enter or exit the rear seats of the vehicle. As another example, the folding recliner may be applied to a recreational vehicle (RV). In this case, the folding recliner is mounted to a rear seat, so that, in normal conditions, it allows a passenger to sit on the rear seat. When it is desired to load cargo into the recreational vehicle, the folding recliner allows the seat back to be folded onto the seat cushion such that a space sufficient to load the cargo is defined in a rear portion of the vehicle.
Recently, according to development of industries and increases in leisure time and the number of people who enjoy leisure, recreational vehicles, in which relatively large numbers of people can ride, and which have space sufficient to load cargo, are gaining popularity.
In the arrangement of seats of such a recreational vehicle, first-row seats, including a driver's seat and a passenger seat, are provided at a front position in a passenger compartment. Second-row seats are provided behind the first-row seats. Third-row seats are provided between the second-row seats and a cargo loading space.
Occupants can freely get on or off the first-row seats and the second-row seats through front doors and rear doors, respectively. However, in the case of the third-row seats, because there is no separate door for allowing the occupants to get on or off the third-row seats, the occupants must get on or off the third-row seats through the rear doors. Therefore, to allow the occupants to get on or off the third-row seats through the rear doors, a seat back folding recliner is used in at least one seat of the second-row seats so that the seat can be folded.
FIG. 1 is a view showing the construction of a conventional folding recliner of a seat for vehicles. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional folding recliner includes a mounting plate 10, which is mounted to a seat frame of the seat. A recliner latch assembly 20 is mounted to the mounting plate 10, and a seat reclining device 40, which allows the seat to enter a reclining state when a lever 31 is manipulated, is provided.
Furthermore, a quadrant 50 is mounted to an upper end of the seat reclining device 40 so as to be rotatable around a hinge pin 22. A seat back latch device 60, which is rotatable around a pivot shaft 57, is mounted to the quadrant 50.
In the seat reclining device 40, when a cam 11 is rotated by the lever 31 in a predetermined direction, lock pawl 21 and teeth 24, which have been engaged with each other, are separated from each other, thus allowing a seat back of the seat to execute a reclining motion. Furthermore, a biasing spring 12 is coupled to an end of the cam 11 such that the lock pawl 21 and the teeth 24 maintain the engaging state using the elasticity of the biasing spring 12.
The seat back latch device 60 allows the seat back to be folded forwards and includes a support plate 80 mounted to the quadrant 50 so as to be rotatable around the pivot shaft 57. Both a lever 71 and a lock cam 72, which are rotated around a pivot pin 73, are mounted to the support plate 80. The lock cam 72 is rotated by manipulation of the lever 71. Thus, when a lock pin 62, which has been placed between the lock cam 72 and a first stop surface 58 of the quadrant 50, is released from the lock cam 72, the support plate 80 is allowed to be rotated so that the seat back can be folded.
In other words, when the lever 71 is rotated upwards, the lock pin 62 is released by a cam 11 and, simultaneously, the lock pin 62 is moved upwards by a connection bracket (not shown), which is coupled to and moved upwards by the lever 71. Then, the support plate 80, that is, the seat back, is allowed to be folded forwards.
Furthermore, in the state in which the seat back is folded forwards, when the lever 71 is rotated downwards, the lock pin 62 is moved downwards and thus is locked between the lock cam 72 and a second stop surface 52 of the quadrant 50.
However, in the above-mentioned structure, in which the lock pin 62 is moved by its weight, there is a problem in that the lock pin 62 may not smoothly move due to friction between a slot and the lock pin 62. Furthermore, the lock pin 62 may fail to unlock, so that the folding motion of the seat back is not executed.
As well, in the convention folding recliner, because the seat back reclining lever 31 and the seat back folding lever 71 are provided on the same side of the seat frame, there is a problem in that malfunction in folding or reclining the seat back is caused, for example, when it is desired to fold the seat back, a user may mistakenly manipulate the reclining lever 31, or, when a reclining motion of the seat back is desired, the user may mistakenly manipulate the folding lever 71.
Moreover, because the reclining lever 31 and the folding lever 71 are provided on the same side of the seat frame, a linking mechanism, which is operated by the levers, is complicated, and the size of the folding recliner is increased. In addition, there are problems in that manufacturing cost and labor cost are increased.